Gabryszak’s attorney: “We intend to follow the rules”

An attorney for Assemblyman Dennis Gabryszak, D-Cheektowaga, Erie County, said the lawmaker will participate in the Assembly process for investigating ethics complaints, telling Buffalo’s WGRZ-TV that he intends to “follow the rules.”

So far, four female staffers have filed notices of claim against Gabryszak, accusing him of maintaining an inappropriate workplace where sexual harassment was rampant. A fifth has hired an attorney and is expected to file soon, according to reports.

“The Assembly has very specific rules when you’re dealing with allegations of this nature,” Terrence Connors, Gabryszak’s attorney, told WGRZ. “The rules provide for a hearing. We intend to follow the rules. We intend to participate in a hearing because the Assemblymember, like every other citizen, is entitled to due process of law, and that’s what we’re going to follow. Those are the rules, and we will follow those rules.”

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, forwarded the allegations against Gabryszak to the Assembly Ethics Committee earlier this month, and last week stripped his office of its ability to participate in the chamber’s internship program. Gabryszak hasn’t commented publicly on the accusations.

The ethics committee meets in private, and Gabryszak will be allowed a chance to address the panel if he so chooses, according to Assembly rules. From there, he can appeal any findings of the committee and request a public hearing.